SoftBank CEO: no comment on whether he tried to buy Universal Music

TOKYO

A shop clerk is seen through a window displaying a logo of SoftBank Corp at its branch in Tokyo June 21, 2013.

Reuters/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Corp CEO Masayoshi Son said on Thursday he could not comment whether he had tried to buy Universal Music, after a media report last week said Universal's owner Vivendi SA had rejected an $8.5 billion offer from Son's company.

"I can't comment on the matter," he told reporters inside Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, when asked whether he had considered acquiring Universal Music from Vivendi.

The Financial Times reported last week that the Japanese telecoms group, which just completed a $21.6 billion takeover of U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Corp on July 10, made an all-cash offer to buy Universal Music about three months ago.